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Storm Front (episode)
Archer and the crew of Enterprise find themselves in Earth's past, with events of World War II altered by the Temporal Cold War. Summary Teaser Tucker and Mayweather are piloting a shuttlepod toward Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco to discover why they have lost all communication with Earth since the destruction of the Xindi superweapon. Their "first contact" comes in the form of an attack from a small formation of aircraft. Trip attempts to contact the planes, but they refuse to answer. Mayweather recognizes the aircraft as P-51 Mustangs, World War 2-era aircraft. He explains that he has seen the same design of plane before, at air-shows. The aircraft seem to be breaking off, so Tucker looks for a landing port on the ground. However, the planes were simply making sure they wouldn't get hit by heavy anti-aircraft artillery which fires at the shuttlepod. When the shuttlepod's starboard engine is damaged, Trip and Mayweather flee back to the orbiting Enterprise. Act One Captain Archer, having recovered from his wounds in a Nazi field hospital, is being transported as a prisoner-of-war in the back of a large truck. A Nazi officer belittles the American war effort, causing Archer to suspect that he is in Earth's past. However, the officer's swagger and manner of discussion lead Archer to suspect that he may be in an alternate timeline. Suddenly, American insurgents surround and ambush the vehicle, killing the driver and several Nazi guards. Archer escapes from the truck, only to be shot in the arm and held at gunpoint by an insurgent - an American freedom fighter, in the form of a 1940s gangster. While Enterprise continues its orbit of Earth, communications officer Hoshi Sato is monitoring radio transmissions from the planet below. When the crew listen to a sample of a speech by Winston Churchill, Hoshi comments that Churchill made the speech 30 minutes ago. Malcolm Reed realizes they have traveled back in time two centuries. While T'Pol calmly suggests a check of the sensors, Tucker becomes aggravated. He argues that three .50 caliber bullets were just removed from the hull of Enterprise's shuttlepod. He has no doubt that the starship has traveled to the past, as bullets are no longer used on Earth in the 2150s. T'Pol explains that she is not disputing the fact that Enterprise has traveled in time. She is simply trying to find a way back to 2154. She repeats that a diagnostic on the ship's systems should be completed and instructs Reed to then check for anomalies. Travis suggests there may be a reason why Enterprise is in the past, a possibility which T'Pol will not rule out. Secretly, the Suliban leader Silik lurks stealthily through the corridors of Enterprise, camouflaged and undetected. On Earth, a Na'kuhl officer, Ghrath, reports to Vosk, his leader, that the Germans believe there are now more than 5,000 resistance fighters. Ghrath attempts to explain Archer's escape by stating that the resistance is becoming better organized and more determined. Vosk is disappointed in the Na'kuhl officer and suggests that Ghrath should have ensured that the Starfleet captain was securely imprisoned. Vosk indicates that Archer was more than just another American prisoner and explains that the captain was carrying a communications device from the future. Ghrath suspects that Archer is a temporal agent, and promises that the captain will be recaptured. In the captain's ready room, Tucker arrives and apologises to T'Pol. He believes the Vulcan was too busy for his outrage on the bridge, although T'Pol understands his reaction. Like her, Trip had expectations of finally returning to Earth after Enterprise's perilous search for the Xindi superweapon. T'Pol reveals that she had been looking forward to returning to Vulcan. When Tucker remembers that the captain always looked for positive aspects in a dour situation, T'Pol thinks the captain would have difficulty doing so in Enterprise's present circumstances but would try anyway. Reed enters and reports that he has found evidence of battles being fought in Virginia and Ohio. The officers slowly grasp that they are in an alternate timeline, one in which events have digressed significantly from recorded history as they knew it. In sickbay, Phlox is trying to tempt Porthos into eating chicken liver with grated cheese, the dog's favorite meal. When he accepts that Porthos won't eat the food, he wonders if the dog would like to hear a Denobulan lullaby. He thinks it is more likely that Porthos would prefer to enjoy a steak and heads toward sickbay's doors, with the intention of visiting chef. Suddenly, Phlox is surprised when a strange, grotesque figure barges through the doors and falls into the doctor's arms. Although Phlox doesn't realise it, the figure is a severely injured Daniels. Meanwhile, Archer wakes up in the apartment of Alicia Travers, who is tending his wounds. She mistakes Archer as a sailor from the ''Enterprise'', a WWII-era aircraft carrier bearing the same name. Archer looks out of a window and sees Nazi soldiers as they patrol the baracaded, burning streets outside. Whenn Travers informs Archer that he is Brooklyn, New York, in 1944, the captain learns that there is something terribly wrong with the timeline. Act Two Later, in the U.S. White House, which is draped with swastikas and guarded by Nazi tanks, Vosk shows a German General film of a Na'kuhl weapon, which uses a modulating plasma pulse to destroy a tank. The weapon, which Vosk refers to as a plasma rifle, requires a considerable amount of energy. Vosk implies that the weapon is from the future, where power is much more easily obtainable. The Na'kuhl submits requisition forms of materials which he needs. The lists include vast quantities of aluminum and carbon steel. The German General worries that the resistance fighters may be planning a counterattack against the Nazis. He notifies Vosk that the Germans have suffered difficulties in Africa and in Moscow, Russia. Vosk replies that the Na'kuhl weapon will ensure the Nazis are safe from any further insurrections and suggests the possibility of creating a water-based pathogen to wipe out all non-Aryans, supplanting the need for Nazi extermination camps. Vosk warns the German General to deliver the supplies which the Na'kuhl need, or their alliance will be dissolved. Aboard Enterprise, Phlox reports the findings of his analysis of Daniels to T'Pol. Portions of the time traveler's body have aged at extremely differing rates. Although Phlox has learnt that Daniels is not suffering from an infection, the doctor finds it hard to make a diagnosis. He is surprised that his patient is still alive and doubts that Daniels will survive for longer than a day. T'Pol raises the possibility that Daniels is the reason for Enterprise's time displacement and that he may hold the answer to the crew's return to 2154. The Vulcan states that she must speak to the time traveler, who is currently unconscious. As several gangsters try to hide their identities from a group of nearby Nazi soldiers, they wander past a man who the Nazis kill. The Germans force several other civilians into a large truck, as the gangsters enter a building. When Alicia Travers hears a heavy knock on the door of her apartment, she takes a gun to the door to ensure her safety. She realizes that the visitors are Sal and Carmine, two of the gangsters who watched the Nazis outside. Sal notifies Alicia that their friend, Vic, was arrested a few hours ago and is probably being tortured. The Gestapo are clearing out entire buildings and shooting people on the street in their search for Archer. Sal demands to know why the Nazis' search is so important and why they are being so ruthless. Archer refuses to divulge his identity, citing the confidentiality of his assignment. Sal assumes that Archer is a member of the American military, an organization which didn't defend their own country. Sal worries that Vic might succumb to the Nazis' interrogation and fears for Alicia's life, if she stays in her apartment. However, Travers refuses to leave her home. The gangsters exit, attempting to find more information about Vic. As T'Pol enters sickbay, Phlox tells her that Daniels has regained consciousness. When the time traveler asks where Archer is, T'Pol believes that the captain was killed aboard the Xindi weapon when it was destroyed. Daniels informs them that the Temporal Cold War is no longer a "cold" war - it has become an all-out conflict, with temporal agents trying to alter history to their own side's advantage, leading to paradoxes and turbulence in the time stream. Daniels admits that Enterprise can't return to its own time, as it didn't exist in the same way that the crew knew it before they left. Before passing out, the time traveler insists that the crew, "Stop him", but T'Pol doesn't know to whom Daniels is referring. On Earth, Ghrath informs Vosk that the Nazis are searching for Archer within a 15-mile radius of the area in which he escaped. They haven't found the captain, yet, although they did arrest several resistance fighters, who are now being interrogated. Ghrath suspects a particular member of the resistance of assisting with the ambush that resulted in Archer's freedom. Vosk tells the Na'kuhl officer that the Nazis have detected Enterprise and orders Ghrath to bring the suspected resistance fighter before the Na'kuhl leader. Meanwhile, Archer has changed from his Starfleet uniform into typical attire for the time period. He and Alicia sit down to eat a meal. Alicia informs Archer that her husband, who they were taking about previously, is aboard a destroyer in the Pacific Ocean. Alicia stands up again, stating that the Nazis take all the good food. She recalls seeing a German tank when the Nazis first arrived in New York. She also recalls hearing a speech on the radio by the President, vowing to persevere, shortly before the American government evacuated Washington. Archer recognises music in the background as a recording by Billie Holiday. Outside Alicia's apartment, she tells Archer that the Nazis outlawed "colored music", which includes songs by Billie Holiday. However, some of Alicia's neighbors pass round a phonograph, or record, between each house every night, so that the Germans won't find the recording. When Archer asks Alicia about the alien Nazi, a creature with gray skin and red eyes, he learns that Alicia has heard stories about the alien from Sal. Archer thinks that these stories may actually be factual and asks Alicia if she could contact Sal. In Enterprise' launch bay, Trip discovers that the damaged shuttlepod's EPS conduit is "fried" and asks an engineering officer, Walsh, to retrieve a replacement EPS conduit from the injector assembly in Engineering. As Trip lies alone, attempting to repair the shuttlepod, a shadow crosses over his body. Alarmed, the engineer stands up and scans the launch bay. With a disruptor aimed at Trip, Silik alerts the engineer to the presence of the Suliban leader. Although Silik explains that he didn't bring Enterprise back in time, he claims that the reason for the starship's travel through time is beyond Trip's understanding. When he orders Tucker to get into the shuttlepod, the engineer is reluctant to do so. Eventually, Trip acts as if he is about to climb aboard, shortly before he slams the shuttlepod's door onto Silik's hand. The two wrestle, with Trip eventually attaining a hold around the Suliban's neck. However, using his shape-shifting abilities, Silik slides out of Tucker's grasp and stuns the engineer with the Suliban disruptor. On the bridge, Mayweather notices that a shuttlepod is being launched from the depressurized launch bay. When T'Pol orders Hoshi to hail the craft, Reed detects a Suliban lifesign aboard - the only occupant of the shuttlepod. T'Pol, who is extremely alarmed at this news, orders Reed to fire Enterprise' phase cannons. In space, the shuttlepod avoids any serious damage from the starship's phase cannons and slowly descends into Earth's upper atmosphere. Act Three On a stairway leading down from the street to the Sixth Avenue subway line, Archer, Alicia and Carmine secretly meet to discuss the alien Nazi. Carmine agrees to let Sal know that Archer wants to talk with him. Carmine then offers Alicia a hamburger, explaining that the Nazis are cutting the meat ration again, increasing the rarity - and thus also the value - of meat. Carmine tells Alicia to be careful and walks away. As Archer and Alicia leave after him, they pass a "Hardware and Plumbing" store called "T. Purser". Alicia explains to Archer that the Nazis have slowly decreased the amount of meat that they give to the American citizens. The Germans blame the members of the resistance for disrupting the food shipment, which makes the Nazis look like heroes, fighting to feed the American public. When Archer and Alicia notice that two Nazis have spotted them, Alicia tells Archer that eye contact with the Germans has been banned. Alicia quickly discards the hamburger as the Nazis approach. As the Germans taunt Archer and Alicia, the Starfleet captain responds to their questions with more assertiveness than Alicia does. Eventually, the two Americans leave, Alicia remarking that the neighborhood has worsened with the occuption of the Nazis. On the bridge of Enterprise, T'Pol remembers Daniels' words - "stop him". Trip believes that the temporal agent was referring to Silik, who has escaped by disabling a transponder. However, Enterprise is detecting trace plasma signatures, probably from the minor damage that the starship's phase cannons caused. Reed believes he will be to beam an away team to within three kilometers of where the shuttlepod landed. Trip can't understand why Silik saved the engineer, when the Suliban could have depressurized the launch bay without removing Tucker from the room. Archer, Alicia, Carmine and Sal hide as an American automobile rushes through a nearby street. Sal notifies Archer that curfew starts in an hour. However, Alicia adds that the Nazis don't always wait for curfew, as nearby gunshots resound. Carmine and Sal don't appreciate the fact that the Nazis now dominate areas which the gangsters used to own. When Alicia hints that Sal and Carmine used to be loan sharks, Sal is reluctant to tell Archer. Sal claims that he and Carmine were delegates for the Construction Workers Union before the war. When Alicia informs Archer of Sal and Carmine's criminal activities, Sal is eager to continue with Archer and the other resistance fighters. Later, Sal advises Archer not to believe too much of Joe Prazki's claims, as Prazki is a drunk and a welsher. Prazki informs Archer that a member of the Na'kuhl regularly seeks information from him, concerning both the resistance and the Gestapo. Because Prazki is not well informed, he invents the stories he tells the Na'kuhl man, who always wears a hat to remain hidden. Prazki adds that he caught a glimpse of the man once, and saw that the man is an alien. The drunk is not willing to arrange a meeting with Archer and the alien until Sal offers him more money. When Prazki is still reluctant to set up the meeting, Sal threatens him. Using the transporter, Trip and Mayweather beam into a forest near the location of the stolen shuttlepod. Searching the area, they find artillery which the Nazis have been using. Trip comments that the wooded area they have beamed into is very different from the Earth he and Mayweather are used to. When Commander Tucker detects a plasma signature, he and Travis start to head towards it. In a dark alley, Sal tells Archer he is certain that the resistance effort is succeeding. The gangster remarks at the diversity of people who have joined the effort and seems particularly impressed with the aiming accuracy of some of the women resistance fighters. Archer and Sal watch an alien Nazi round a corner and come into full view of the Americans. Sal hands Archer a loaded gun shortly before the captain heads towards the alien Nazi. Because Archer is wearing a cap, the alien, who can only see Archer's silhoutte in the dark, assumes that the captain is Joe Prazki. When the alien realizes that the silhoutte actually belongs to Archer, the Nazi raises his gun. Alicia, Sal and Carmine intervene and force the alien to surrender. When they push the Nazi into a lit section of the alley, Carmine is shocked at the Nazi's alien appearance. The "alien" is Ghrath. Meanwhile, Trip and Mayweather have found the crashed shuttlepod, damaged and deserted. The Starfleet officers enter the craft and Tucker contacts Enterprise, unsure of whether the shuttlepod will be able to gain altitude. Elsewhere, Sal and Carmine discuss their shock at seeing the alien Nazi's appearance. While Archer searches Ghrath, the captain finds an alien communications device. He attempts to interrogate the Nazi, but Ghrath refuses to talk. Eventually, the alien informs Archer that the Na'kuhl know the captain is from the future and have detected Enterprise in orbit of Earth. Ghrath claims that the Na'kuhl are trapped in 1944 and are using the help of the German Nazis to construct a time conduit to get back. When a siren begins blaring and the shuffle of soldier boots approaches, Sal shoots the alien three times in the midsection, killing him, as Alicia and the men flee the scene. Act Four Satisfied that Trip has adequately assessed the damage to the shuttlepod, he and Mayweather walk away from the craft. Tucker contacts Enterprise and notifies T'Pol that the shuttlepod won't be able to fly. On the bridge of the starship, Reed informs T'Pol that several vehicles are approaching Travis and Tucker. Trip overhears Reed and reports that Plan B is in progress. The engineer is frustrated that Silik has not been found, but T'Pol assures Trip that the Suliban leader will be caught. When Sal and Carmine begin to question if Archer is from the future, the captain tells them that he was born in upstate New York. Suddenly, Archer, Alicia, Sal and Carmine grow suspicious when they realize that many people are watching them in the dark. Suddenly, the Americans are ambushed by Nazi soldiers. Carmine escapes, but Sal is gunned down in the street by machine gun fire. Archer and Alicia flee in a running gunbattle down an alley. There, Archer frantically tries to contact Enterprise with Ghrath's communication device, while Alicia tries to shoot the persuing Nazis. Meanwhile, Tucker has set up explosive charges in the shuttlepod, so that the Nazis won't be able to use the technology aboard the craft. A deployment of Nazi soldiers with Alsation dogs approach, so Trip and Mayweather hide. When the Nazis find and enter the shuttlepod, Trip detonates the charges, causing the craft to explode. Travis and Tucker are chased down a hill by a Nazi vehicle and are soon surrounded. On the bridge of Enterprise, Hoshi reports that the damaged shuttlepod has been destroyed. The communications officer adds that the explosion of the shuttlepod has interrupted the starship's communication with the away team. However, Hoshi picks up another signal - although the transmission is weak. T'Pol, Hoshi and Reed are pleased and surprised to learn that Archer is still alive. However, Archer is pinned down in the alley as Vosk approaches. When the Na'kuhl leader demands that Alicia and the captain surrender, the two Americans are transported safely to the ship. Vosk furiously fires a machine-gun at their previous location, realizing that Archer has escaped again. Aboard Enterprise, Alicia is amazed at the capability of the transporter. When she wonders how the device works, Archer claims that the transporter is complicated. Together, they step off the transporter platform and head for the bridge. There, the crew welcome back their captain, who asks to be briefed on Enterprise's situation. As T'Pol and the captain walk through a corridor, the Vulcan informs Archer that the away team destroyed the shuttlepod shortly before they went missing. The captain orders the continuation of the search for Trip and Mayweather and shows T'Pol the Na'kuhl communication device. He wants her to disassemble the device and find out how to monitor the Nazi's transmissions. In sickbay, Daniels informs Archer that his main nemesis is Vosk, who must be destroyed, along with his time conduit, a massive device being built with 20th century technology. The Na'kuhl used a one-way stealth time travel device to travel to 1944 and are constructing the temporal conduit to return to their own time. Archer has been sent back to this point in time because it is here (now) that Vosk can be stopped, in order to restore the proper timeline and erase the Temporal War from history. Uttering his final words - "stop him", which the crew now understands refers to Vosk - Daniels dies. On Earth, Vosk informs Tucker and Mayweather that the Nazis haven't managed to detain Captain Archer. The Na'kuhl leader prepares to question the Starfleet offers as potential temporal agents. Travis and Trip are led out of the room, as Vosk tells their Nazi guards that he will be "supervising another test". Vosk walks through a long hall, which overlooks the massive time conduit, as production on the conduit continues posthaste. TO BE CONTINUED . . . Background Information This and all subsequent Star Trek: Enterprise episodes were filmed using high-definition digital video. (See this press release.) * Production Report This episode takes place entirely in an alternate version of 1944, with no scenes set in the usual time period of the 22nd Century. The Billie Holiday song which is used as background music in this episode is called "My Old Flame". Ghrath's name - and the name of his species, the Na'kuhl - are taken from the original script and are not mentioned in the episode. The informer who has seen Ghrath is also not named in the episode, although he is called Joe Prazki in the script. With the addition of this episode, Enterprise became the first Star Trek series to start a 4th season without having any change in the cast since its pilot episode. Following "Cold Front", this is the second episode in which Daniels apparently dies. Joe Maruzzo and Steve Schirripa, who play Sal and Carmine in this episode, are regular cast members on the television show The Sopranos. Memorable Quotes "Americans are good at making movies. They're not so good at fighting." - Nazi Guard in truck "Just shut up and tell him." - Carmine "I can't talk and shut up at the same time." - Joe Prazki Links and References Guest Stars *Jack Gwaltney as Vosk *John Fleck as Silik *Matt Winston as Daniels *Golden Brooks as Alicia Travers *Joe Maruzzo as Sal *Steven R. Schirripa as Carmine *Tom Wright as Ghrath *John Harnagel as Joe Prazki *J. Paul Boehmer as SS ''Untersturmführer'' (List of unnamed humans) *Christopher Neame as German Generalmajor (List of unnamed humans) *Sonny Surowiec as German soldier (List of unnamed humans) References Air-show, Moscow, Nazi, Russia, Temporal Cold War Category:ENT episodes